Black & White
by muttation
Summary: Clare volunteers to tutor a troubled boy named Eli. When the more secrets are revealed, the more broken he turns out to be. She never expected this to grow into something more than algebra..
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: **Sorry! I kind of been MIA for a couple of weeks and I had writers block for over a month. . Many of you obviously have given up on me. sadly. Sorry but writers block is gone and writing is on! Hehe. I LOVE THE ELI IN THIS STORY.. does that sound weird? Credit to whoever has a familiar story out there..had no idea. Going to make sure to say that from now on..._  
_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Degrassi.

* * *

Every time pieces of her life start to fit together nicely, something bad happens and ruins the puzzle. There's a cause and affect to everything and two sides to every story. Clare Edward knows this, but why is it such a struggle to understand?

Maybe she should stop trying.

The class went by slowly,as the hushed whispers of teens swayed around the room untouched. Clare fiddled with her loose sheets as she took her time to organize her binder, a huge mess that looked as if hurricane decided to visit. She sighed silently to herself as she shoved her last abandon assignment, which was the draft for a history report, into her bag. The bell rung and she quickly dashed out the room not bothering to stop by the teachers desk to hand in the class work.

_He won't even ask for it. _She thought to herself as she swung the mildly heavy bag over her shoulder and through the hall. She made a mental note to pass by his class later, making sure he wont doc a few points. She knocked on the door and after a moment of silence, it swung open to reveal Simpson, the principal.

''Clare you are already aware.'' He starts, his voice scratchy with distaste. ''I informed you about your extra credit work, to tutor Elijah-''

''-Goldsworthy.'' She continues with a toothy but forced smile. She wasn't looking forward to working with a complete stranger, she did hear a few things about him and according to those, he wasn't a good person and that made her quiver under her clothes. She was grateful he couldn't see that her nervousness though, or she would look weak. '' I know, im staying after school with him today. I know the basic procedure, I have become accustomed to this tutoring routine.'' She explains almost proud of that truth.

Simpson snorts. ''This is Eli we're talking about, did you see his file?'' He says, ''It's the size of a dictionary and im sorry but he isn't someone who works well with others.'' Simpson leans back on his chair taking in the cent of his chicken sandwich waiting silently on the table. Clare wondered if he was counting the seconds till she left, for him to devour it with no regard to manners whatsoever.

She smiles at him politely,before retrieving her bag from the floor reluctantly, contemplating whether to wait for more speech but instead Simpson sits quietly, his eyes observing her behind his full rimmed glasses. ''Thank you, but im sure I wont have a problem..'' She stops herself. ''Um..getting along with him.'' She reassures and Simpson smiles in amusement.

''Let's see Miss Edwards.'' He responds. ''I admire your optimism, good trait. Take advantage.''

* * *

Clare tapped her brown boots on the pavement impatiently as she waited for the mysterious Eli Goldsworthy to appear from the darkness. She snorted to herself at the thought. He can't be as bad as people make him out to be right? Maybe he is just misunderstood, and needs a shoulder to cry on. The wind scrapes her cheek as a pair of black ripped Vans meet the toe of her boots and she looks up to find a black shaggy haired boy staring straight at her, his green orbs mirroring green flames, burning holes into her. He looked intimidating,with his piercings on his ear and his naturally crooked lips. Clare was shivering,and it wasn't from the cold.

''Hi.'' She said and she stood straight smiling at him, her lips dry from the weather. ''I'm Clare, you must be Elijah.'' She says and Eli stares at her blankly before shooting her a weak smile. Something she wouldn't have noticed if she wasn't so close to his face.

''Eli,actually.'' He mutters in response and he digs his hands in his jean pockets. ''Elijah doesn't fit well for me.'' He explains in a low whisper and Clare gulps nodding before shooting him a small smile. She backs away and points to the double doors where she signals him to walk,but he shakes his head in return.

''Ladies first.'' He mumbles and she begins to walk up the steps, only to notice Eli wasn't moving. She snaps her fingers and he shakes his head before pushing passed her,completely forgetting what he had said only a few seconds ago.

_x-x-x_

''That was enough math for today.'' Clare mutters closing the textbook and she sighs tiredly as she hands Eli his pen. ''Thanks for the writing utensil.'' She partly jokes at her word use and Eli merely takes it gently. as if the pen is fragile that it would break if he touched it.

Eli nods putting it in his book bag before setting the North face brand on the floor. He then looks at Clare then back at his work and back at Clare. ''I never seen you around Degrassi.'' She explains, trying to start an innocent conversation. Eli sighs to himself toying with his thumbs before smiling at her genuinely.

''Well due to the color of your uniform, we aren't in the same grade.'' He manages to explain in a regular voice. ''I'm a senior.'' Clare mouth forms a small 'o' stupidly as Eli explains and he says, ''I have seen you around though.'' He says and Clare feels partly guilty for not knowing his existence while he was doing the opposite. She notices that his mouth is almost like a natural frown, as if he done so much for so long that it has impaired him by now.

He seems so fragile, it scares her really. ''Cool.'' She blurts out, her voice as low as his when he greeted her. Eli laughs a little and it feels refreshing to hear a nice voice, especially since her and her friends aren't on speaking terms. ''Well we're both here now.''

''Not for long.''

She looked at him and frowned. ''Elaborate.''

''I'm actually a very mean person.'' Eli explains bluntly,lifting a shoulder in an act of carelessness. ''Well that's what other people said, I never really listened to myself on a daily basis. I just..do it and hoped for a good reaction.'' He explains and Clare can't help but wonder why he was so..weird. He released a vibe that wanted her to run away, but then wanted her to know more about him.

_It's the size of a dictionary and im sorry but he isn't someone who works well with others. _Clare remembers Simpson's words and she has the urge to ask him the bad things he done to cause such a principal to talk about him that way. From what she see's, he seemed like a nice person. Why all the negative comments?

''Are we done?'' He whispers clutching on his bag tightly, his knuckles white. ''I told my mom i'll be home by 7.'' He mumbles and Clare nods staring at her watch. 6:20. Taking that as a signal, he shoots her a faint smile before grabbing his things and walks out the library leaving her alone to her thoughts..solely on what kind of person he really is. For some reason she feels determined to find out, as if a mission and it gives her a sense of rebellion..it was a rush and she loved it.

* * *

She walked into the house sighing to herself as she tossed her keys on the dinner table carelessly and rummaging through the refrigerator. ''No more milk.'' She mutters obviously annoyed by her lack of options on what to eat, she was starving. Her step-brother, Jake, trudges down the stairs, amusement etched on his pale features.

''Heard you're tutoring Goldsworthy.'' Jake says grabbing an apple and taking a large bite. ''Good luck Angel,.'' He says shaking his head. ''You'll need it.'' He laughed a little and sat on the chair near the table toying with her keys. She turned around obviously annoyed by him and she lifted her arms in hopeless.

''What's so bad about him?'' She asked,almost yelling. ''Why all the secrecy? He seemed fine too me.'' She exclaimed and Jake shrugged taking another bite.

''I heard..'' He starts chewing. ''..he was a handful in his old school. Boy is loco.'' Jake snorts with a small smile and Clare rolls her eyes.

''Well I beg to differ.'' She says snatching her keys from his hands.

''Wait till you spend a few days with him, you'll beg to agree!'' He argues as Clare runs up the steps and into her room and slamming it behind her.

* * *

Clare saunters into the halls, looking at her assignment making sure no petty mistakes are missed. She feels a soft hand on her shoulder and turns around to be greeted by Adam. Her only friend right now.

''Hey.'' He says looking at her paper. ''You revised that like twenty times, calm yourself.'' He takes the paper and she begins to protest but he stops her. ''You'll get a good grade, as always.'' He rolls his eyes,waving a hand dismissively. Clare sighs to herself as they begin to walk through the hall and toward her locker.

''I feel like it's missing something.'' She says her now shoulder length auburn hair swaying with every movement. ''Ideas?''

''I'm not a writer nor do I care for those little mistakes that seem to bug the hell out of you.'' Adam shrugs giving her the paper and Clare stares at it with a small frown. She shakes her head and shoves her books in her locker slamming it and sighing. ''Jeez.'' Adam mutters and Clare glares at him before he raises his hands in defense and backing away slowly mouthing 'sorry' to her as he turns the corner.

She sighs leaning her head against the locker groaning to herself. She hated an incomplete paper, she was a perfectionist and when she couldn't help making it better it clouded her day. Turning around by her head, she jumped at the boy staring straight at her intently.

''Hi Eli.'' She says cautiously standing straight and Eli continued to stare at her which caused her to blush, her cheeks scorching a tomato red. She wasn't used to this, and she was afraid Eli noticed.

''Hi.'' He greets blankly and then he blinks and shoots her his same smile - no - he was smirking. ''Uh..you're blushing.'' He musters which causes him to turn a light pink. She nods and sighs at her paper before attempting to shove it in her bag. ''What's that?'' He question and Clare smiles lightly.

''My English paper.'' She shrugs. ''I'm going to fail,but no worries. A good grade can take you only so far.'' She explains sarcastically and Eli smiles a little before taking it from her hands. His movement wasn't demanding nor was it rude. He was soft, as if he found her to be fragile and petite. He scans it quickly before handing it back to her.

''You have great wording but it's pretty sloppy.''He exclaims and Clare stares at him,wondering if she should feel offended. ''Am I offending you? Sorry.'' He says and she shakes her head furiously.

''No,go on.'' He nods and reads a part from her essay.

''It just doesn't make sense when you think about it.'' He says and Clare re-reads the words till it feels foreign to her. She nods and between that she smiles knowing exactly what to write.

''Thank you.'' She says and Eli waves his hands off.

''Im just here to help you.'' He pauses. ''Or you to help me..''

She laughs and was about to bid him goodbye when a tall muscular boy walked over to them,shoving Eli to the nearby lockers. A mix between a gasp and a whimper escapes Clare mouth and Eli groans in pain, his eyes filled with anger. She looked at the culprit and sighed at the person.

It's Fitz. His name is Fitz.

She looks back at Eli and Fitz lowers to eye level, mirroring Eli's recent smirk. ''Hey Goldsworthy.'' Fitz says and Eli shakes his head. ''Long time,no see. Not since you-'' It looked like Eli had to use great force because he lifted his fist and punched him straight in the jaw, both of them groaning from pain. Clare gasped as she saw blood trickle down the side of Fitz's lip. Eli sighed clutching on his stomach trying to stand up, but failed when he slipped on the floor. After a minute he stood up,regaining balance.

''Why did you do that?'' Clare rushes toward him and a wave of students crowds around them. ''What did you do to make him so angry?''

''I-'' Eli shoves her away and sighs. ''I need to go.'' He grabs his back reluctantly and walks through the halls, pushing passed curious bodies.

What's going on?

* * *

_Enjoyed it? I feel like its going to fast so I will slow down a little bit with the friendship process._

_In more chapters Eli will build character, he won't have the same emotion all the time and he might get scarier and much more creepy.  
_

_Lawl. Bye!  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n: **Did anyone else literally freak out when Clare kissed Eli in the Frostival episode? I did not expect that at all. Just a small nice moment and they'll go off but noo we got a kiss. I'm not gonna get my hopes up though because Degrassi likes to toy with my little heart and this is why I updated, since im excited,bored and blinded by the amount of shippage.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Degrassi - or any other references.

* * *

**Two days later**

''I think you should stay away from him.'' Adam said looking at the boy who sat alone a few yards away from them. His head was down, his shoulder slouched and his face was dug in a book Clare couldn't make out. She turned back to Adam who was munching on chips. ''He seems like trouble.'' He shrugs, and pops a chip in his mouth,staring at Clare.

''I don't know if I should do that.'' She argues softly picking at her food. She catches Adam rolling his eyes at her and she drops her fork. ''It's not right to shun him.'' Clare said with a slight shrug and Adam put his hands up in defense shaking his head. ''Anyway im meeting up with him in an hour to tutor him.''

''You are just too nice.'' Adam responded crumpling up the bag and tossing it behind him. Usually Clare would scold him and tell him to throw it in the trash but right now she has more important things on her mind. Such as the reason why Eli is hated by most people she met. Why he is called a lunatic and what happened to him that made his this way. Adam flipped open his notebook scanning it quickly before handing it to Clare. ''Literary help from a friend?'' He asks hopefully and Clare shoots him a weak smile before looking over his small creative story and she hums to herself.

''Can I take this?'' She asks him and Adam gives her a weird look. ''To look over and revise.''

''Oh yeah.'' Adam nods with a toothy grin. ''Less work for me.'' He chuckles before gulping down soda.

''You're gonna get fat.'' She mumbles glancing at the can and Adam shrugs in response.

''Whatever.''

* * *

''Hi.'' Eli says grimly as he walks up the steps to the school,his black hair flowing furiously due to the wind. Clare sighs as she holds onto her knit hat as it was slipping off her head. Eli digs his gloved hands in his pockets and sighs,looking everywhere but Clare,who was right in front of him. She smiles weakly staring at his choice of clothing. She can see why he would come off intimidating due to his black outfit, and his leather jacket style. He wore a frown and he was mildly buff.

''Lets start.'' She grins and heads to the school library,followed by Eli who was dragging his feet across the floor. She smiles and sits on a table near the computers and flipped her textbook and began to read. Eli sat beside her, opening a textbook of his own. ''Okay. Algebra-''

''I don't want to work.'' Eli mumbles and Clare looks at him to see if he was partly serious. ''I done enough at home.''

She nods and closes her book making a mental note to go back to that later. Then in almost a split second Eli smiled at her before closing his textbook and throwing it in his bag in a swift movement. How can he change his mood so easily? Clare frowned and looked at the table.

''Lets get to know each other.'' Eli says more confidently and Clare looks up laughing a bit.

''What?''

''I should know who's tutoring me.'' He nods. '' Since you know im depending on you for my grade.'' He shrugs and Clare opens her mouth but closes it with no argument.

''-kay.''

''Uh.'' Eli looks at the ceiling then sighs but looks back at her with the same smile. ''Favorite author?''

''Chuck Pal-''

''Really?'' Eli says softly and he takes his book from his bag and slides it over to her. ''I re-read this book over a dozen times.'' He whispers with a weak smile etched on his features. She gasp at the sight of the cover of _Invisible Monsters,_ a book she has been longing to read for a while but failing to find it. ''..if you want..'' He pauses and whispers, ''You could borrow it.'' He mutters shyly and she grins.

''Cool.'' She says excitedly and slides it back to him. ''Though I still need to finish _Jane Eyre _for a report.'' She explains. ''I read that book one to many times.'' Eli smiles slightly and shoves it back into his bag, leaning on his hand, his elbow resting on the table.

''I could help you on that report.'' He says. ''I am favored by the English teacher. '' He jokes softly.

''Really?'' She retorts. ''Doesn't look like that.'' She jokes back and Eli smiles at the ground.

''You're a good person.'' He mumbles and Clare cocks an eyebrow. ''And my only friend.''

''What? '' She says slightly shocked. ''You don't have other people who talk to you?''

''Well if calling me 'emo kid' counts as talking then yeah im friends with the whole school.'' Eli says and he groans. ''I'm not a very likeable person.''

''Me either.'' She says in an attempt to make him feel better.

''That's not true.'' Eli responds and Clare looks at him.

''I like you.'' He then smiles warmly and continues on his book.

* * *

Clare sighs as she drops her keys on the floor tiredly and she groans knowing it takes energy to pick things up from the floor. She was exhausted from the tiring walk she had to take due to her mother working late. Eli did have a motorcycle, he said his hearse was 'broken', but Clare's fear overtook her and she decided to burn a few calories by walking home.

The house was eerily empty except for the occasional creaks of the floor and the spur of the wind. She slipped off her flats and set her keys down on the kitchen counter before walking up the steps slowly, and knocking on Jake's door. After a minute he swung it open, a beer in one hand and a sandwich in the other. She leaned on the door frame, an amused look on her face.

''You're not old enough.'' She explains staring at the beer bottle and to mock her, he takes a long swig before licking his lips blissfully. She rolls her eyes in response and pushes passed him before laying on his bed. Jake closes the door behind him and sets the bottle down, taking a seat near his computer desk.

''It's not like your mom is here.'' He shrugs and takes another gulp. ''Anyway, you wont tell..will you?'' He looks at her intently before she shakes her head,resting herself on her elbows.

''-but you do owe me.'' Clare responds and Jake slowly walks over to her with a devious grin on his face. ''Uh Jake-'' It went all to quickly,his lips were resting on hers. His eyes closed,his minty breath entering her mouth. She wasn't prepared,mentally or physically. She pulled away,her eyes wide and her hand on her mouth. She shook her head, got off and ran out the room to hers.

''Clare!'' Said a male voice a few minutes later. She glanced at the book and continued to read the book in silence. She didn't want to relive the moment in her head. It was to weird, to awkward. After a few minutes, the yelling and the begging stopped and Clare sighed to herself.

She'll have to deal with this in the morning.

* * *

**This wasn't how I planned. So it might just suuuck. If you're confused everything will be cleared up in the next chapter. JSS.**


End file.
